Audience Theories

By applying these theories to my artist it shows what the affect of Zayn's music has on his target audience.

Audience Theory: Uses of Gratifications

The 'Uses and Gratification' theory deals with the effect of people on the media. It provides an approach that is audience-centered. It deals with how and why people adopt specific media to satisfy their needs. The media have a limited effect on their audiences because audiences are able to exercise their control over the media.

Identify- being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role models that reflect similar values to yours, aspiration to be someone else.
Educate - being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding.
Entertain – What you are consuming should give you enjoyment and also some form of ‘escapism’ enabling us to forget our worries temporarily.
Social Interaction – the ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between other people, sparks debates (eg. who is left on the x-factor)

Elihu Katz first introduced the Uses and Gratification Approach, when he came up with the notion that people use the media to their benefit.

How do the 4 elements of theory apply to Zayn and his music?

Identify- His target audience are mainly female teenagers/young adults which would mean they would look up to him as he is older than them and possibly if they have similar interests to Zayn they may view him as a role model as they have things in common which he has achieved with. Also, it is likely that the reason most of the females like Zayn is because they find him attractive which lead to them having a crush and fan-girling over him which therefore means that they like his music too.

Educate- By Zayn playing an important part in these young females lives it educates them in the music industry and what it is like. It shows them how Zayn's life has changed and how he works within the music industry. It allows them to know information about Zayn's personal life such as his birthday, his hometown and social media because of being in the public eye.

Entertain- Zayn's target audience would enjoy his music as they like his style as an artist. Also, it is likely that most of Zayn's fans would have been with him since his career begun which was from the x factor where he was put in one of the biggest One Direction. This means Zayn will have a strong following of individuals and clearly show they like him and his music as they have been with him through tough times. Lastly, it may give his fans an sense of escapism from their lives and take a step into what his life is like. Fans may relate to subjects that Zayn is singing about which may help them in their own situation.

Social Interaction- His music and his lifestyle would create a lot of social interaction for fans because they would use a lot of formats such as social media to publicise their views on Zayn's new music, him leaving One Direction, his personal life etc. Also, there would be a lot of peer influence on individuals because if their friends are talking about Zayn they are more likely to like him therefore socially talk about him and his music.

Reception theory

Reception theory is the notion that audiences don’t just absorb everything they are told but are actually involved, sometimes unconsciously, in making sense of any given message as it relates to them in their own personal contexts. People may interpret a message a certain way just from their own cultural background differently from someone else with a completely different background. The theory invented by Stuart Hall in the 1970s to be a different approach to how audiences were perceived as opposed to the Uses and Gratification theory. The reception theory is when there is an encoded message in the text constructed by the producer/director which the audience will see and understand if it was conveyed well

There are different types of audience reading messages as Stuart hall identified

Dominant- a dominant audience is an audience that agrees with the overall message or idea that’s trying to be conveyed from the music video, it also involves what the audience wants to hear from people and agrees with the subject, although usually has limited knowledge on it.

Negotiated- a negotiated audience is when the audience agrees, disagrees or questions the message/idea being portrayed in the video.

Oppositional- an oppositional audience is when the audience recognises the dominant or important message that’s trying to be shown but rejects it; this is usually because of culture or political opinion.

By applying the Reception theory to Zayn's target audience i think his audience would be identified as an dominant one when reading into the messages from his music videos. I think this because Zayn's target audience are mainly teenage females/ young female adults who adore Zayn and believe he can do no wrong. Which means it is likely they are going to accept his video theme and the messages he is trying to convey from it. Also, it is likely they will agree with his subject of video because of the age of the fan base, they would believe what Zayn created was correct and therefore have no argument/ debate against it just enjoy it.

Andrew Goodwin’s Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin, a directer of music, noted how music videos feature certain elements.

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work.
There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos) etc.

By applying Goodwin's music video theory to my artists genre of pop i can identify how his 6 elements apply to my genre of music.

Element 1- In pop music video's they have typical characteristics such as dance routines being included in the video especially if it is a performance based video. Also, it usually has the theme of love/ heartbreak so sometimes focuses on the sexual element in the video.

Element 2- The second element focuses on how the lyrics link to the theme and visuals of the music video. This is to showcase the emotion and message of the song through imagery and movement. For example, in Bruno Mars video Grenade it shows how the lyrics link to the visuals; the lyrics " I would go through all this pain, Take a bullet straight through my brain,Yes I would die for you baby,But you won’t do the same!" demonstrates how he would do anything for the girl he loves, even carry a piano all through the city to reach her.

Element 3- This element is similar to the second element but is more to do with the tone and sound of the music rather than the lyrics and how this links to the visuals. Using the example of Bruno's Grenade again, in his voice when he sings the song you can hear the upset in his voice which links to the visuals of him looking pained as to demonstrate the effect of the heartbreak on his emotional state. Also, extra sound effects added to the video such as glass smashing and thunder roaring create a negative, dark atmosphere.

Element 4- This element is about how the record label promote the artist. In pop music videos they make the artist the main focus as the camerawork is positioned around the artist and include of lot of close ups on the artist. The artist may form a visual motif (style) making them more memorable when a new video is released. For example, Lady Gaga’s obscurity and strange outfits in her music video’s lets everyone know who she is straight away.

Element 5- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females. Goodwin recognized that many music videos included voyeuristic angles of women in order to entice a male audiences interest in the artist and also the lyrics to which these shots represent. An example is Britney Spear's Toxic music video, where she is shown in a very sexual way from the camera angles and her costuming. Goodwin explains that by using the camera in this way we can ensure the male audience engage in the music video as it increases its attractiveness for them.

Element 6- Goodwin recognized that it was not uncommon to recognize either the visuals or lyrics of a song to be a direct reference to another media text. This is used to engage the audiences and provide them gratification if they recognize the link. For example, Zayn and Taylor Swift's song ' I don't wanna live forever' has a link to the film 'Fifty Shades Darker' which uses the technique of synergy to promote themselves and the film.